Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of PhysicsPhysics, once known as "natural philosophy," is the most basic science, explaining the world we live in, from the largest scale down to the very, very, very smallest, and our understanding of it has changed over many centuries. In Black Bodies and Quantum Cats, science writer Jennifer Ouellette traces key developments in the field, setting descriptions of the fundamentals of physics in their historical context as well as against a broad cultural backdrop. Newton’s laws are illustrated via the film Addams Family Values, while Back to the Future demonstrates the finer points of special relativity. Poe’s "The Purloined Letter" serves to illuminate the mysterious nature of neutrinos, and Jeanette Winterson’s novel Gut Symmetries provides an elegant metaphorical framework for string theory. An enchanting and edifying read, Black Bodies and Quantum Cats shows that physics is not an arcane field of study but a profoundly human endeavor—and a fundamental part of our everyday world. |
Contents
Foreword by Alan Chodos PhD xi | |
Lens Crafters | |
Gravitys Guru | |
Contents | |
Trompe lOeil | |
Rules of Attraction | |
Ingenious Engines | |
Emperors of the | |
Radio Days | |
Mysterious Rays | |
A Thousand Points of Light | |
Its All Relative | |
That Darn | |
Life During Wartime | |
Tiny Bubbles | |
Energize | |
Disorderly Conduct | |
Queens of Science | |
Calling Mister Watson | |
Thrill Seekers | |
Current Affairs | |
Shadow Casters | |
Contemplating Chaos | |
DISCOVERY OF THE TOP QUARK 254 | |
DEEP BLUE DEFEATS KASPAROV 261 | |
SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT 283 | |
Other editions - View all
Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics Jennifer Ouellette Limited preview - 2005 |
Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics Jennifer Ouellette Limited preview - 2005 |
Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics Jennifer Ouellette No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
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